Pulling device



M. C. STORY PULLING DEVICE Feb. 6, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1959 INVENTOR MALCOLM C. STORY ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1962 M. 0. STORY 3,020,021

PULLING DEVICE Filed Nov. 9. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR MALCOLM C. STORY ATTORNEY Unite States Patent snzaez r Patented Feb. 6, 1962 3,02%,021 PULLING DEVICE Malcolm C. Story, 521 S. Willson, Bozeman, Mont. Filed Nov. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 851,639 7 Claims. (Cl. 254-161) This invention relates to the pullingor stretching of material, such as Wire. More particularly, this invention relates to the repairing of broken barbed wire in fences.

Heretofore, various devices have been proposed for stretching the broken ends of a fence wire so that the ends can be spliced together. Many of these prior devices have been heavy, cumbersome, and bulky. Some such prior devices have been so heavy and bulky that it has been necessary to transport them on a truck to the scene of the break in the fence. Such wire stretchers have been unsatisfactory because much of the mileage of western ranch fences is not accessible by truck travel.

The present invention resides in the concept of a pulling device for stretching wire that has a compact, lightweight and sturdy construction. The wire stretcher of the invention can be readily disassembled and the parts formed into a compact unit for transportation in a saddle bag. Thus the wire stretcher of the invention can be transported on a saddle horse to repair broken fence wires located in areas that can be feasibly reached only on foot or on horseback.

The wire stretcher of the invention is of simple con struction for economical manufacture.

A further advantage of the wire stretcher of the invention is that it is constructed to draw the ends of a broken wire together in increments or hitches. That is, the broken ends are pulled together for one or two feet. Then the ends are clamped in this relative position and a grip member is moved farther down one end of the wire to pull another increment of wire toward the other end.

For a better understanding of the invention and its other objects, advantages and details, reference is now made to the present preferred embodiment of the inven tion which is shown, for purposes of illustration only, in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a wire stretcher according to the invention shown with one end of a broken barbed Wire clamped to the body of the stretcher and the other wire end clamped by the grip member;

FIG. 2 is an elevation, similar to FIG. '1, and showing the wire stretcher after the handle has been rotated to pull the wire ends together and both wire ends are clamped to the body;

FIG. 3 is an elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the grip member shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and showing a wire in phantom lines extending therethrough;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the body of the wire stretcher illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a vertical section taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a vertical section taken along the line 8-8 in FIG. 5; and,

FIG. 9 is an elevation of the wire stretcher illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 8 wherein certain parts have been removed from their operating positions and the wire stretcher has been converted to its compacted form for transportation and storage.

Briefly stated, the wire stretcher of this invention includes a body with a pair of spaced clamps for clamping the ends of a broken wire to the body. A grip member is provided for attachment to a broken wire end and frictional engagement therewith. A flexible cord extends from the grip member to a spool 'rotatably journaled in the body. A crank is provided for manual turning of the spool to wind the cord thereon and draw the grip member toward the body and thus draw the two wire ends together. For holding the wire ends together while one is secured by a clamp, a drum is provided on the spool spindle with a plurality of notches formed in its periphery. A setscrew, or other latching device, is movable to engage any one of these notches and hold the spool in stationary position with respect to the body.

So that the wire stretcher will have reduced bulk for transportation in a saddle bag, nuts are secured to the body member for engagement by the crank handle and setscrew when detached from their operative positions.

Referring to the drawings, the wire stretcher includes a body 10 connected by a flexible nylon cord 12 to a grip member E4. The body 10 is constructed to clamp one broken end 16 of a barbed wire, as in a fence. The grip member 14 is constructed to grip the mating broken end 18 of the barbed wire.

The body 10 includes a table or top 20 for supporting the barbed wire ends 16 and 18 when they are being tied together. A front clamp plate 22 is positioned at the front end of table 20 and has a hole in one end 23 through which the threaded post 24 loosely extends. The post 24 has its lower end attached to a projection 26 secured to the edge of table 20. A nut 28 threadedly engages post 24 to maintain the clamping plate 22 on the post 24 but permit the pivoting of clamping plate 22 around post 24. The other end 30 of clamping plate 22 has a notch formed therein for engaging a threaded post 31 extending upwardly from a projection 32 secured to the edge of table 20. A wire nut 33 threadedly engages the post 31 and can be screwed down to releasably hold the clamping plate 22 between the wing nut 33 and the projection 32.

A pair of flanges 34 and 35 extend downwardly from oposite edges of table 20. A side plate 36 is welded to flange 34 and a side plate 37 is welded to flange 35.

For clamping the wire end 16 to the table 20, a rear clamping plate 4t) is attached at the rear end of table 20 and has a hole formed in one end 42 through which a threaded post 44 loosely extends. The post 44 has its lower end secured to a projection 46 secured to the edge of side plate 37. A nut 48 threadedly engages post 44 to maintain the clamping plate 40 on the post 44 but permits the pivoting of clamping plate 40 around post 44. The end 42 of clamping plate 40 is bent upwardly, as seen in FIG. 8, to provide for clamping of wire end 16 between the middle 50 of clamping plate 40 and table 20. The end 2 3 of front clamping plate 22 is bent upwardly in a similar fashion.

The opposite end 52 of rear clamping plate 40 has a notch formed therein for engaging a threaded post 54 extending upwardly from a projection 56 secured to the edge of side plate 36. A wing nut 58 threadedly engages the post 54 and can be screwed down to releasably hold the clamping plate 40 between the wing nut 58 and the projection 56. The projections 26, 34, 46 and 56 can be the heads of bolts welded to the edges of table 20 and side plates 37 and 36, respectively. To guide the flexible cord 12, a loop 64 has its opposite ends secured, as by welding, to the flanges 36 and 37.

The cord 12 is wound upon a spool 70 having two discs 72 and 74 secured at opposite ends of a cylindrical spindle 76. The spool is rotatably positioned between side plates 36 and 37 by an axle 78 extendingthrough registering holes in side plates 36 and 37 and through a central hole in spool 70. So that axle 78 will rotate substantially integrally with spool 70, a bolt 80 extends I through diametrically opposed apertures in spindle 76 and through a diametral hole in axle 78. A loop 82 formed in the end of cord 12 surrounds an end of bolt 80. A washer 84 and nut 86 maintain the cord loop 82 surrounding the bolt 80. The nut 86 and washer 84 also maintain the bolt 80 in position to key the axle 78 to the spool 70.

For winding the cord 12 upon spool 76, a crank arm 94 has a nut-shaped end 96 threadedly and releasably engaging one end of axle 78. A crank handle 98 has a threaded end 1% releasably engaging an internall threaded end 102 of crank arm 94. A nut 194 is threaded on crank handle 93 for locking the handle in desired position.

For holding the spool 70 in stationary position when the cord 12 is under tension, a locking drum 110 is rigidly secured to one end of axle 78, referring to FIGS. and 7, and has a plurality of circumferentially-spaced cavities 112 formed in its peripheral surface. A latching member such as setscrew 114 has a winged head 116 for manual operation and a threaded shank 118 extending through, referring to FIGS. 1 to 8, an internallythreaded nut 120 secured to the side plate 36. By rotation of the setscrew 114, the beveled end 122 of shank 118 is moved into any of the cavities 112 to thus lock the axle 78 and spool 70 and prevent rotation thereof. To prevent wire end 16 from damaging the cord 12, a U-shaped guard 124 has its legs secured to the upper edges of side plates 36 and 37.

Referring to FIG. 9, the wire stretcher body is shown converted to compacted form for transportation in a saddle bag. To reduce thebulk of the wire stretcher, the crank handle 98 is detached from crank arm 94v and threadedly inserted in storage nut 130 mounted on middle portion 50 of clamping plate 40. The crank handle 98 thus extends along the length of body 10 to reduce the bulk thereof. Similarly, the setscrew 114 is detached from nut 120 and is threadedly inserted in storage nut 132 mountedon the inner surface of side plate 37, as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the grip member 14 includes a seizing rod or jaw 150 which forces the barbed wire portion 18 into the groove of angle member 152. The seizing rod 150 has a plurality of spaced ridges 154 formed along its length to provide grasping engagement with the surface of the. wire 18. Both the rod 150 and the angle member 152 are. curved along their lengths and have adjacent ends slidably connected by a bolt 156 extending through registering apertures in the rod 150 and angle member 152. A nut 158 is releasably secured on the end of bolt 156 to maintain the angle member 152 thereon. The head 160 of bolt 156 maintains the rod 150 on thebolt.

A flexible loop 162 formed in the end of cord 12 extends through a ring 164 secured to the end of angle member 152 and a ring 166 secured to the end of rod 150. When tension on the cord 12 increases, the tension in the loop 162 tends to pull the rings 164' and 166 toward each other. Because of the curvature of angle member 152 and rod 150, and their engagement with bolt head 160 and nut158, the force tending to pull the rings 164 and 166 together is transmitted to the center portions of rod 150 and angle member 152 where the wire 18 is firmly gripped therebetween.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in order to repair a broken fence wire with the illustrated wire stretcher, the setscrew 114 is rotated to withdraw the end 122' from the drum 110 and permit rotation of spool 70. The grip member 14 is then pulled away from the body 10 as the cord 12 unwindsfrom the spool 70. The wire end 16 is then placed between the clamping plate 40 and the table 20. By rotation of wing nut 58, the wire end 16 is. firmly clamped between the plate. 40 and table 20, with a sufficient. length of the wire. extending on the right-hand side of clamping plate 40, as viewed in FIG. 1, to splice subsequently with the other wire end 18.

Next, the other wire end 18 is inserted in the grip member 14 to lie in the groove of angle member 152 and be engaged by rod 150. A sufficient length of the wire portion 18 is provided to the left of grip member 14, as viewed in FIG. 1, for subsequent splicing with wire end 16. Then the crank handle 98 is revolved to cause rotation of axle 78 and spool 70 to wind the cord 12 on the spool and draw the wire end 16 toward the body 16. When the wire end 16 overlaps the wire end 18 the setscrew 114 is rotated to cause its end 122 to enter a cavity 112 in drum 110. This locks the spool 70 and prevents unwinding of the cord 12 while the wire end 16 is clamped between the front clamping plate 22 and the table 20 by operation of wing nut 33.

Thereafter the overlapping wire ends 16 and 18 are spliced or tied together. Then the grip member 14 is disengaged from the wire. The clamping plates 22 and 4!! are released from the wire portions by operation of the wing nuts 33 and 58 respectively to complete the disengagement of the wire stretcher from the wire.

The setscrew 114 is also used to lock the spool 70 when it is necessary for the operator to travel along the fence, perhaps fifty feet in both directions from the break, to loosen staples or wires and eliminate slack from the wire.

Sometimes, it is necessary to take two or three hitches or increments in order to bring the wire ends together. In such cases, the front clamp 22 is. used to hold the wire end while the grip member 14 is moved further down the wire.

Thus it will be seen that the invention provides a simple, lightweight wire stretcher that is conveniently operated and can. be converted to a compact form for transportation in a saddlebag.

While a present preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be recog nized that the invention can be otherwise variously ernbodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a pulling apparatus comprising a body member, means for attaching one portion of material to said, body member, grip means connected to said body member for gripping another portion of material, separated from said first portion of material, means for drawing said grip member toward said body member, and, means for securing said other portion of material to said body member after said other portion of material hasbeen drawn to said body member; theimprovement wherein saidbody member includes a table, said attaching means includes a first clamping plate positioned adjacent said table and, means for moving said first clamping plate toward said table to clamp said one portion of material to said table, and, said securing means includes a second clamping plate positioned adjacent said. table and. means for moving said second clamping plate toward said table to clamp. said other portion of material to said table.

2. In an apparatus for drawing together a pair of ends of material for engagement with eachother, a body memher; two spaced means for clamping said ends of material to said body member; a grip memberfor frictionally engaging one said end of material; a spool rotatably journaled in said body member; a flexible element connecting said grip member to said spool for winding around said spool; means for rotating said spool to draw said grip member toward said body member; one of'said clamping means being adapted to clamp the other end of said material to said body member; the othersaidclampingmeans being adapted to clamp saidone end of material to said body member after said grip member has been drawn toward said body member; and a guard extending across said spool for preventing said other end of material from damaging said flexible member.

3. Pulling apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said rotating means includes an axle supporting said spool; a crank arm secured to said axle, said crank arm extending substantially perpendicular to said axle; a crank handle for detachable connection to the end of said crank arm remote from said axle; and including storage means secured to the said body for connection to said crank handle when said crank handle is disconnected from said crank arm.

4. Pulling apparatus comprising: a body member including a pair of spaced substantially-parallel side plates having registering apertures formed therein; an axle extending through said apertures; a spool having a hole formed therein receiving said axle; a crank arm fast to one end of said axle and extending substantially-perpendicularly thereto; a crank handle detachably conneotable to the end of said crank arm remote from said axle; a drum fast to the other end of said axle; said drum having a plurality of circumferentially-spaced cavities formed in its peripheral surface; a projection extending from one said side plate adjacent said drum and having a threaded opening therein; a setscrew threadedly received in said opening in said projection and movable into any of said drum cavities to lock said drum and axle; a setscrewstorage mounting secured to the inner surf-ace of one of said side plates and having a threaded opening therein for receiving said setscrew when said pulling apparatus is disassembled for storage and transportation; a table connected to said side plates and extending therebetween; a first clamping plate positioned adjacent said table; means for moving said first clamping plate toward and away from said table to clamp one end of material to said table; a crank-handle-storage mounting formed on said first clamping plate and having a threaded opening therein for receiving said crank handle when said pulling apparatus is disassembled for storage and transportation; a second clamping plate positioned adjacent said table; means for moving said second clamping plate toward and away from said table to clamp another end of material to said table; a grip member for frictionally engaging the other end of material; a flexible connector having one end secured to said grip member and its other end secured to said spool; a bolt extending through said spool and axle to key said spool to said axle for rotation together, said other end of said flexible connector being joined to said bolt; and a guard joined to said side plates and extending across said spool to prevent said one end of material from damaging said flexible connector; whereby when said first clamping plate clamps said one end of material to said table and said grip member frictionally engages said other end of material, turning of said crank handle will draw together said grip member and said body member so that said second clamping plates can clmp said other end of material to said table.

5. Pulling apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said clamping plates are pivotally connected to said table; a pair of posts each located across said table from said pivotal connection; each said clamping plate having a notch formed therein for receiving a said post; a wing nut threadedly engaging each said post for moving each said clamping plate toward said table, each said clamping plate having one end upturned.

6. In apparatus for pulling together ends of material, the combination of a body member; a pair of spaced clamping plates positioned adjacent said body member; means for independently moving each said clamping plate toward said body member to clamp an end of material to said body member; a spool rotatably journaled in said body member; a flexible connector having one end attached to said spool and its other end adapted for attachment to a grip member; disconnectable crank means for rotating said spool; and, releasable means for locking said spool; whereby when one clamping plate clamps one end of material to said body member and said grip member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,202,464 Wingire Oct. 24, 1916 1,868,558 Anderson July 26, 1932 2,020,175 Durr Nov. 5, 1935 2,039,693 Verschelden May 5, 1936 

